Applying millions of nuclear bombs to either slow down or speed up the Moon by the same amount will change its orbit by a similar magnitude in terms of the shee

Applying millions of nuclear bombs to either slow down or speed up the Moon by the same amount will change its orbit by a similar magnitude in terms of the sheer change in energy. The energy required to achieve a specific Δv is the same whether you are accelerating or decelerating. This is because energy change associated with velocity (ΔE) in a conservative system is dependent on the square of the velocity change (Δv^2), regardless of direction.